Razer's Sanity
by Amalasuintha
Summary: To help lower tensions aboard the Interceptor, Hal has Aya land the ship on an inhabited planet so he, Kilowag, and Razer could go get drinks. But they don't reach the bar before something very, very strange happens. Razer feels his sanity slowly slip away as well as his physical health. Can Razer stand to see his dead wife again and again? Takes place BEFORE Flight Club.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: By the way, I will write more of The Caged Goddess soon. I just wanted to start writing this too since I've had the idea for a bit. =) Enjoy!**

* * *

Tensions were high between the inhabitants of the Interceptor. And, like expected, the limited space the Interceptor gave them made it worse.

"You two are stupidity at its finest. Do you two enjoy plowing through asteroid storms and acting like it's some joyride?"

"Will you quiet down already?" Kilowag growled. Razer turned his glare from Hal, who tried whistling away the oncoming argument, to Kilowag. "It's not like turning around was any better of an idea!"

"Both of you have valid points," Aya interrupted, "but I believe both of you need to, as people from Earth would say, 'chill out'." Hal chuckled.

"And that makes it a smart idea to act like going through the storm was a game? We nearly crashed more times than I can count."

"Guess you can't count that high then!"

"Okay, now that's enough." Hal stood from his seat in the cockpit and quickly moved between the two. "Aya's right. You both need to calm down. I have an idea: Aya, how long would it take us to get to the closest civilized planet?"

"Roughly two point two hours."

Hal nodded to her. "Thanks Aya." He looked between Razer and Kilowag now, grinning. "Who's up for some drinks?"

* * *

"This is pointless."

"If you think you're not going, guess again."

"Hal, I bet you Red Lantern here just doesn't want to stay out of his Red Lantern gear."

"Well he doesn't have to; just it'd make it less likely for there to be any issues." Hal grabbed Razer's arm and pulled him to the front. Razer still wore his Red Lantern ring but he allowed himself to be persuaded into losing his gear and wearing his normal, all-black clothing.

"And if someone spots my ring?"

"That'd be easily fixed if you'd just take it off."

"I think not…"

"Why not, afraid of a little—"

"Let's just go," Razer said as he walked out of the Interceptor. Hal and Kilowag exchanged confused glances. Neither could do more than shrug so they walked out, but Aya was hot on their heels.

"What activity is it you three will engage in?"

Hal turned, amused by her curiosity, and responded, "We're just having a few drinks, Aya. Sorry you can't come but we need you to watch the ship so no one tries stealing it."

"And how long will your 'drinking' take?"

"A few hours tops. Don't worry; we'll be back soon."

Aya nodded and watched as Hal jogged to catch up with Kilowag and Razer to go to the bar. The door to the Interceptor closed once Hal was a safe distance away and Aya would've sighed had she been able to. She only hoped they wouldn't get into trouble.

* * *

The trio walked through the desert for approximately three minutes before reaching the town. The buildings were mostly constructed out of wood while others were made of an alien equivalent of human brick. The town was fairly large in size but bordered on under populated.

"Does this place even have a bar? Most of the people here are children, Hal!" Kilowag stopped just short of stepping on a young alien boy, with blotchy white skin, ducked underneath Kilowag's foot and slapped the back of Razer's leg as he passed. Razer glared; Kilowag yelled, "Hey, watch where you're going kid!"

Hal frowned. Kilowag was right; most of the citizens so far were children. There were few adults except for the elderly. "You're right. I wonder why that—Razer!"

As Hal stopped looking around to look at his little group, he saw Razer sprinting away from them. "Has he lost his mind?!"

"No time for that Kilowag, let's find out what he's up to."

They took off running after the Red Lantern but they could barely keep up. Whatever was motivating Razer had to be big to give him that burst of speed.

When they started to lose sight of him, as he weaved through alleyways, somehow deaf to their shouts, Hal and Kilowag opted for flight.

"Razer, what are you chasing?!"

* * *

Razer wanted to shout. He wanted to tell her to slow down, stop, and let him look at her. Surely this was madness. What was he thinking? It wasn't her. If it was her she wouldn't be running.

"Razer, what are you chasing?!"

Hal's voice, surprisingly close, snapped him back into reality. She had turned left… no right… "Leave me alone," he choked out. Razer wouldn't bother with more words when the circumstances made it hard to breathe. It was a long shot but he had to do it. He had to know. Razer activated his Red Lantern ring, feeling the power become usable to him, and turned to flight. He flew up high, ignorant to how close Hal and Kilowag were, and saw her duck into another alleyway.

He dove down but was stopped. He felt hands grabbing his feet and he growled, whipping around to glare at them. "I said leave me _alone!_"

"And we said to—" Kilowag couldn't finish before Razer blasted him and Hal. They released Razer's feet and flew back long enough for Razer to catch sight of his target again and take off. However, the blast hadn't been to kill—only to push back. Hal and Kilowag recovered quickly.

"Okay, if he's playing that way we're fighting fire with fire."

"I swear when I get my hands on Razer he's dead."

"You'll have enough time to kill him after we find out what in the world's wrong with him Kilowag. Now let's go; we don't want him hurting anyone."

They took off after Razer again. Thankfully it wasn't hard for them to spot him in the desolate streets and alleys below in his bright red getup.

* * *

Meanwhile, she ran. She was terrified; Razer knew it. It pained him to scare her if it was her, but he'd live.

"Ilana, stop! It's me!"

She turned but Razer didn't see her face. Instead he saw lights explode from behind his eyes and then saw the ground up close. The wind was knocked out of him and he couldn't breathe. Worse yet, he saw Hal fly down and land between him and the woman he thought to be Ilana. Kilowag, who had blasted Razer, landed beside him.

"Kilowag, are you sure you didn't use a little too much force?" Hal asked, though even in his breathless state Razer knew Hal would've hit him harder.

"Not at all." Razer almost flinched when Kilowag cracked his knuckles. He would have, had Razer not been more interested in the woman.

"What are you doing? Let him go!" Ilana screamed.

"Well, let's get him back to the Interceptor and maybe into a cell… I'm not eager to see if he'll attack us again."

Kilowag stepped back from Razer and pointed his ring at him. A green beam shot out and a sphere formed around Razer for easier transportation. Razer, still doubled over and fighting for breath, couldn't believe the Green Lanterns were ignoring Ilana's pleas to release him.

"Are you just… just going to ignore her?" he gasped.

"Ignore who, Razer?" Hal looked around and saw no one. "Don't tell me you were chasing someone."

"Her!" Razer yelled and jabbed his finger at Ilana, who knelt next to him—outside of the sphere, of course—, and still asked if they'd let him go. Razer could only think of her as Ilana because they weren't just similar; they were the same. Both her appearance and the way she spoke caused hope, actual hope, rise in Razer it was Ilana. She knew him too, which convinced him more. But what hurt was how she looked exactly as she had when he last saw her alive.

Kilowag stared at where Razer pointed. "Hal?"

"Yes Kilowag?"

"I don't see anyone."

"I don't see anyone either. I think Razer just needs a little sleep and maybe a checkup from Aya."

What was this? Razer didn't understand. How could they not see or hear her? Ilana was right there! Suddenly he felt very, very unstable. _Ilana's dead,_ he thought, _I know this, but I'm seeing her. Is this some wicked dream?_ Razer shut his eyes tightly. He desperately wanted to wake up from the nightmare he was trapped in. This—seeing Ilana—rehashed old wounds. When he opened his eyes he was in the air and could feel Hal and Kilowag glancing at them. Razer didn't try to fight his way out of his confinement and instead allowed his mind to slip into what he hoped would be consciousness despite it feeling a lot like sleep.

* * *

"So, do you think Razer's finally lost his mind?" Kilowag whispered. He didn't know if Razer really was asleep or not and he wouldn't take the risk of being wrong. "There was no one there, Hal. I think that classifies as crazy."

"Or he tried running and came up with a bad cover story," Hal countered. "Though that doesn't sound much like Razer."

"Whatever's wrong with him I hope Aya can fix. We can't afford to lose his power as a teammate when it's only three of us against the Red Lanterns."

"Four you mean, counting Aya."

"You know what I mean Hal. If he's gone psycho then the Red Lanterns are that much closer to overpowering us."

"I know." Hal shook his head and sighed as they approached the Interceptor. "If we're lucky maybe he really does just need some sleep."

"And when have we ever been that lucky?"

"Point taken."


	2. Chapter 2

Razer's unconscious body rested on the gurney Aya had pulled out. They'd taken his ring; Hal didn't want to risk Razer attacking them again, so he had Aya sedate Razer before removing his Red Lantern ring. That was yesterday; today was a new day on the planet they'd arrived at the day before and Hal, Kilowag, and Aya were discussing the appropriate course of action.

"I took note of his vital signs and brain activity when you first brought him in. His pulse was abnormally high as well as his brain activity, which was all over the place. I found definite origin in imagination and in several parts of the brain that control emotion, as well as memory. Once placed under sedatives his vital signs and brain activity returned to normal. I also found that he's fighting off a small, unknown virus. I have run some tests and I plan to run more once Razer is awake."

"Thank you, Aya. That… explains everything." Hal scratched the back of his head and looked to Kilowag. He whispered, "Do you know what all that means?"

"No idea." Aya, if she was able to, would've sighed.

"I was unable to observe Razer's vitals while he went through his hallucination. I know nothing more than what you two have told me and what I have told you. I do not know if Razer's mind is truly deteriorating or if his body is reacting badly to the disease, which doesn't seem likely. According to the test results I believe it is little more than a passing bug."

"I just hope Red wasn't chasing someone back there. The last thing we need is him getting the cavalry here on our tail." Kilowag glared at Razer. "When will he wake up anyways?"

"He should wake up shortly." Aya paused. "I correct myself: He should be awake now." She walked over to Razer and leaned over him. "Razer? I my sensors indicate you are coming out of stasis. If you would say something to indicate your awareness has returned that would be most helpful."

Razer grunted. Hal and Kilowag moved closer, both ready to restrain Razer if he fought. Aya didn't seem concerned. Then again, she didn't express emotion well.

_Ilana?_ Razer opened his eyes and waited several minutes for them to focus. At first he thought Ilana was bent over beside him and in his grogginess Razer forgot how he was a Red Lantern now and she was dead. It wasn't until he reached out and grabbed Ilana's hand and realized he hadn't grabbed her hand or even Aya's—he'd grabbed Kilowag's hand.

"Red, what in the name of Oa are you doing?" Kilowag stared dubiously at Red, unsure of whether he should break Razer's hand or just pull his away.

"I think he likes you," Hal said before trembling with laughter. Razer glared and jerked his hand away from Kilowag's. Aya instructed him to remain lying down in case of light-headedness but he disregarded her instructions and swung his legs off the side of the gurney. He stood and wobbled slightly, but caught his balance.

"Blithering idiots." Razer balled his hands into fists. He couldn't remember if yesterday was real or not and he didn't have his ring. _I suppose that answers my question._ Razer turned to Hal, who barely contained his snickers under Kilowag's gaze, and said, "I want my ring back." When Hal opened his mouth Razer added: "It isn't a request." Hal's smile vanished and his lips formed a tight, thin line.

"You'll get your ring back once we're sure you won't attack us again. Speaking of which, why did you attack us?"

"And what were you chasing? You ran faster than someone walking on fire!"

Razer's fingers twitched. He wanted to force them to give him his ring back, but with a battle-ready AI and two fully-charged Green Lanterns there was no way he'd succeed. "What I went after is none of your business. And I didn't hurt either of you. The blast was merely a way to get you two to let me go."

"And that makes it any better?" Kilowag stepped in front of the slightly-shorter Razer. Had Kilowag done this to anyone else, with his large and imposing figure, he would've seen fear. But with Razer he only saw aloofness and defiance. "Last time I checked you don't turn your ring against allies for _any_ reason."

"Get over it. You two tried to stop me from checking something out. How do you know I wasn't chasing after a Red Lantern or another threat I know of? You don't." Razer tried shoving Kilowag but he didn't budge. "Now get out of my way."

"Make me."

"Will the two of you cut this out? We don't need any more fighting."

"Hal Jordan is correct. Because of this argument Razer's vitals have changed. As I don't know what induced his hallucination I can only guess that recreating the vital signs he had before may cause him to hallucinate again. Green Lantern Kilowag, I suggest you back away from Razer unless you want to risk sending him into another—"

"I'm right here can hear everything you say, Aya. I hope you realize that." Now that Razer couldn't pretend yesterday was a dream he felt stupid for chasing after Ilana. It wasn't even her; it was a hallucination. After being unable to exact his revenge upon Atrocitus for killing Ilana and having the Star Sapphires remind him of his loss, as well as being assured Aya had gone into his memories and stolen the form of Ilana, Razer knew it wasn't an impossibility. Sometimes he did question how sound his mind was. Still, Razer couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed—and shamed, mostly shamed—he might be insane. Insanity was for the weak and he refused to be weak. "I assure you all I am of sound mind. None of you need to start talking like I'm unstable. I'm not."

"We're not so sure about that." Hal paid no mind to Razer's glare and stepped next to the glowering alien. "Look," he said and grabbed Razer's shoulder, "I don't think you're a nut job and neither do Kilowag or Aya. We're just a little concerned." Silently fuming, Razer continued glaring at Hal. Hal sighed and dropped his hand; so much for being friendly. "You'll get your ring back in a few days as long as you don't do anything violent. Until then you're going to have the company of either me, Aya, or Kilowag at almost-all hours."

"So you're going to babysit me," Razer seethed. "How pleasant."

"You can think of it that way, or you can think of it as bonding time." Hal tried to grin but he could feel Razer's and Kilowag's eyes boring into him and he started sweating.

"Hal, just for how long are we going to have to look after him? And why the heck did you volunteer _me?_" Kilowag's voice rose towards the end. The last thing Kilowag wanted to do was babysit Razer. "Don't you think Aya would be better suited for the job considering Red can't bait her into an argument?"

"I refuse to be treated like a child, and I especially refuse to have a computer placed in charge of me." He stormed off to his room with barely contained anger and a desire to be alone. Aya followed him with more to say.

"Razer, I need to speak with you so we can discover what ails you. It is nothing to be ashamed of if that is what you are concerned about. We are merely—"

"Are you stupid?" Razer turned on her and for a moment fooled himself into thinking she was Ilana. His eyes softened and his tense muscles loosened up. Hal and Kilowag stepped forwards. All stared at him.

"Razer?" Hal furrowed his brow. "Are you okay?"

Razer regained control of himself and his features hardened again. With a firm shove, he pushed Aya back several feet.

"I don't want or need any of your help, especially not yours." His eyes zoned in on Aya. "You are a nosy robot in need of dismantling. You are doing more harm than you are good. So leave me be, and don't bother knocking."

He stepped into his room and the doors shut behind him. Hal and Kilowag were taken aback by his sudden outburst. Aya found herself unable to comprehend why Razer shoved her and questioned why she didn't stand firm.

"Geez, what got into him?"

"I don't know Kilowag, but we'll find out soon enough. Let's wait for Razer to cool down before we bother him. And Aya—" He walked next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "—are you okay?" Aya looked at him blankly.

"I am fine Hal Jordan. I am not too sure about Razer however. He seemed rather angry. Do you think Razer holds ill feelings toward me?"

"He has ill feelings towards everyone, Aya." Kilowag snorted. "His smug attitude won't last much longer if he really is losing his mind. Then he'll be begging us for help. What will we do with him when that happens?"

Hal pulled his arm away from Aya and looked at Kilowag. His expression was a more somber, serious one. "Then we get Razer the help he deserves. That includes making sure he really is having hallucinations."

"And how do you propose we do that?"

"I'm working on it."

"Of course you are."

* * *

Razer collapsed onto his bed. It wasn't particularly soft or warm but knowing he was alone and could relax comforted him. However, the comfort didn't last long before his thoughts and emotions bubbled to the surface.

It wasn't until Razer realized he might be stuck alone with Aya, if they went through with Hal's suggestion of them keeping a constant eye on him, for hours that Razer's emotions towards her turned bitter. He resented her. How dare she steal the form of _his_ Ilana, after entering his memories without permission no less? To think Razer grew accustomed to her resemblance of Ilana. Out of all the forms she could've chosen why did it have to be hers? And why did he have to mistake Aya as Ilana?

_I almost kissed her,_ Razer thought bitterly. He had wanted to for the moment he'd been entranced by Aya's looks. To kiss and hold her—to kiss and hold his wife. "What is wrong with me?"

Razer flung his pillow over his face. Razer knew he dreamt about Ilana and sometimes couldn't help but to think of her, but this—this was a pathetic overabundance of self pity and longing. She was dead. D-e-a-d, dead. And she wasn't coming back. That knowledge, in and of itself, should've been enough to let him know better than to think she could be alive. And to project her image onto a robot of all things—that was downright disrespectful.

On the other hand (one Razer did not want to acknowledge), Razer remembered how some soldiers in the militia back home would mistake strangers as someone else they'd once known. He had pitied them, as back then Razer couldn't imagine himself without Ilana and therefore couldn't imagine their pain, but back then Razer knew he'd see her face everywhere if she passed and that he could sympathize with, just a little bit.

Maybe it was happening now, but to him?

Again, that was stupid. He just needed sleep.

"Go to sleep Razer, I'll be right here when you wake up."

Razer's pulse quickened. Someone took hold of his hand and stroked the back of it. He ripped the pillow off with his free hand and sat up. Sitting next to him, her blue eyes level with his, was Ilana. She smiled. "Ilana," Razer whispered. Then again, but louder: "Ilana." Her name cut deeper than he could've imagined it would.

"Shhh." Ilana stopped stroking Razer's hand and pressed her fingers to his lips. Gingerly, she traced patterns over them. "Just go to sleep."

He was dizzy. No, he felt sick. Hell, he was dizzy AND sick. His heart twisted in agony, both from being forced to see her, knowing she wasn't real, and from how fast his pulse was. He didn't know what to think. Conflicting emotions arose: Was it her? No, it couldn't be. But maybe…? It definitely wasn't; it's a sick trick of the mind. But I _want_ it to be her.

There was only one thing Razer knew to do with his emotions. He forced them into different shades of the same thing: Rage.

Rage was the only thing that gave him power. It disgusted him to keep using the power Atrocitus gave him but Razer had no choice. It was even turning into some sort of guilty pleasure. That, accompanied with the barrage of emotions going on inside of him, gave him enough rage to look past the hallucination's deceptive appearance. Ilana kept smiling at him, her eyes never leaving his, as he pulled back his arm and put every bit of him into the blow. Ilana dissipated before the punch landed and, as he had nothing to hit but air, Razer toppled off his bed, cursing.

For several minutes, Razer layed on the floor with no reason to get back up. He shut his eyes and resigned himself to sleeping as he was. His nausea wouldn't allow him the privilege of standing anyways. He dozed off about an hour later. Then Aya decided to check on him, but as part of the ship and not as a humanoid AI.

"Razer? Is there a reason as to why you are sleeping on the floor and not your bed?"

Razer groaned and sat up. The world spun and he swayed. "It's nothing that concerns you."

"Should I get Green Lantern Hal Jordan and have him assist you back into bed?"

"Don't do anything! Aya, leave me alone. That is an order."

Slowly and unsteadily, Razer climbed back into bed. He waited for Aya to respond but she didn't. Instead she went to Hal, who was seated in the captain's seat while Kilowag was in the other room eating. "Hal Jordan, may I speak with you?" Hal jumped, surprised to hear Aya and not see her.

"Of course Aya." Nodding, he inhaled deeply and exhaled with a laugh. "You surprised me. Why aren't you in your humanoid form?"

"When I give assistance, is it truly helpful?"

"Of course it is Aya! You're probably the most useful member on the team. Why? Is something bugging you?"

"It seems as if Razer is convinced my help is more of a disservice than service. I am unsure why. He fell on the floor and I asked him if he wanted your help, but he ordered me away."

"Well, Aya, Razer's just… Razer. And I guess he's not feeling so good right now. I'm sure he didn't mean it."

"Razer acts rather blunt. It is hard to envision him as saying things he does not mean."

"Yeah, well…"

"You are unsure how to answer."

"I'm sure Razer didn't mean it. Don't let him bug you, all right? I'm sure he'll be grateful once he finds out you're doing a big part in helping us find out why he saw someone who wasn't there and…"

From there on, Hal continued to explain to Aya he wanted her to look up information on anything she could find in her databanks about things that could make people hallucinate. He then called Kilowag in and, after persuading Aya back into her humanoid form, began explaining what he and Kilowag were to do early next day in town. As soon as they had a (very loosely formed) plan, Hal went off in search of something to fill his stomach leaving Kilowag and Aya to either talk, or sit in boredom. (It's very likely the latter was chosen.)

* * *

**A/N: I started laughing so badly when I wrote that Razer almost kissed Aya. I just imagine he'd get shocked with Green Lantern Energy and Hal and Kilowag would never recover from shock/be able to understand what just happened.**

**Also, thank you everyone for your reviews! I really appreciate them and wow, I was shocked I got so many. (It may not seem like much, but I usually don't get so much feedback). Thank you so much!3**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, guys! Before you start reading I want to say that I'm starting an RP based off of GL:TAS! It is off-site, and I'd like to have people who are fairly literate. (Sorry, but I really dislike text talk!) If you're interested, just shoot me a PM. It's almost completed; I just have a few more boards to add and threads to make, and it's ready.**

* * *

"Razer. Razer? Razer, please wake up."

He groaned. "You've kept me up all night. Let me rest."

"But Razer, I love you."

Razer knew trying to sleep was pointless. Ilana wouldn't go away no matter what he said, or didn't say. Eventually he gave up on rest and left his room. Razer paused outside to straighten his back and regain his equilibrium. Upon entering the dining room Hal's and Kilowag's shocked expressions told him everything he felt about his appearance.

He shuffled to the cabinet and grabbed the packet containing something that resembled a gray steak. He picked up a plate, fork, and knife, dumped the steak onto the plate and tossed the packet away. Hal and Kilowag tried (and failed) to sneak glances at Razer without him noticing, but one glare from Razer sent the two into a riveting conversation about the worm-looking things Kilowag ate.

Once Razer sat down and started picking at his food—just picking, not eating—Hal tried starting a conversation not involving what he and Kilowag were about to do.

"Good mornin'! How'd you sleep kid?"

"What do you think, Lantern?" Razer glared at Hal again before turning his attention to his steak. Despite his hunger the thought of eating repulsed Razer. He finally shoved his plate away when the sight of it sickened him.

"Something wrong with the food?" Kilowag asked between mouthfuls of wriggling worms. Hal barely suppressed the barf rising in his throat when one tried escaping Kilowag's mouth only to get sucked back in.

"I'm not hungry."

"Oh yeah, your body stores nutrients in it, right?" Hal tried sounding sincerely interested, but he kept eyeing the door waiting for Aya to come out and take Razer away for tests. "I guess you don't need to eat as often then."

"Shouldn't ya still eat though?" Kilowag, too, kept eyeing the door. Razer wondered how long it'd take for him to get his ring back if he punched one of them. It'd probably be a long time; longer than he'd be willing to wait. "For a kid like you, you should eat enough for you to—"

"Will you two stop making idle chatter? I can see you two looking at the door and I know you're waiting for Aya to come in and take me away to conduct more useless tests."

"What?" Hal feigned offense. "That's ridiculous. We're just… It's just that Aya hasn't been herself since yesterday. I think she's a little sad. Would you happen to know—"

"She's a computer; I doubt she has the capability of being sad."

Hal made a face and Kilowag snorted. "And I bet you didn't do anything to upset her, huh Red?"

Razer made a guttural sound and crossed his arms. "Does it matter? She's a computer; nothing more."

"Okay," Hal said loudly, hoping to obviate an argument, "I think we all woke up on the wrong side of bed today and need to take a breather. Don't you agree, Kilowag?" Kilowag grunted. "Kilowag…"

"Whatever you say, Jordan."

"Excuse me, but I need fresh air." Razer stood and walked to the exit. "I'll be back."

"Negative." The door to the control room opened as Aya stepped out. "I still have tests I wish to run and questions I need to ask. A physical and mental evaluation of your conscious state is required for a diagnosis."

"I'm fine."

"Red Lantern Razer, if what you have is a physical illness and it is contagious, do you not think it would be best to reach a diagnosis before Green Lanterns Hal and Kilowag fall ill as well? If they fell ill and died because we couldn't research the disease then their lives would be on your hands."

Razer turned on her in less time it took to blink. "Fine," he snarled, "I might as well humor you since you're so insistent."

"Thank you." For once, Aya sounded relieved. "Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and Kilowag, I suggest you two go out for some air and return later. By the time of your return I should be finished with Razer's tests."

"That's a great idea, Aya!" Kilowag wanted to hit himself for being too enthusiastic, so he sounded much too timid when he said, "Don't you think so… Jordan?"

"I do! Come Kilowag; let's leave Razer and Aya to the tests. We should… see if anyone has sugar we can borrow."

When they left and Aya cleared out the tables and brought out the cot, Razer sighed. "They couldn't be any less subtle, could they?"

"I am not supposed to know what you are talking about, Red Lantern Razer."

"Stop calling me that. I'm not a Red Lantern."

"My apologies Razer, but you still bear a Red Lantern ring. I thought I should address you as such." Aya grabbed Razer's arm and forced him onto the cot. He didn't struggle. He sat quietly as she checked his vitals and whatever else she could think of Razer thought as totally unnecessary. Meanwhile, Hal and Kilowag were trekking to the city.

"How mad are you going to bet Razer will be when we get back?" Hal mused.

"Who cares? We're doing this for his own good."

Hal's brow shot up. "You really think he'll see it that way?"

"Doubt it. He isn't exactly the appreciative type. What are we looking for again?"

"We're going into town to see if there's a good doctor here or if anyone knows anything about what's going on with Razer. The place is pretty much deserted, there has to be a reason." Kilowag slowed to a stop. Hal turned to him and said, "What?"

"If that's true then we need to get out of here!" He looked around, suddenly acutely aware of how fast germs could spread. "If there's some kind of disease spreading on this planet then we should hightail it out of here and—"

"—and what? We're not leaving Razer, and if he's with us then we'll still have just as big of a chance of catching it as we do here. We might already be infected, so it's in all of our best interests to see who knows what."

"I don't want to leave the kid high and dry either, but you've got to think about this Jordan. We could see if Aya knows of a way to contain him while we find a doctor. Don't you think if these people knew how to fight off the disease they would've already?"

"But they will know about the disease if they've dealt with it before. Another planet might not."

"You're impossible Jordan, you know that?"

"Think of it this way: If we get infected I might not have enough energy to stop you from hurting me."

"Hurting you is the _least_ I'd do."

"And that's why I love ya, pal." Hal lifted off the ground, hovering about three feet in the air. "Now let's hurry and get started. I'm not sure if leaving Razer and Aya alone was a good idea."

"And why's that?" Kilowag asked after taking flight and taking lead.

"Razer told Aya that she wasn't helpful it took us a lot of convincing to get her into her humanoid form, don't you think?"

"Do you really think Aya let Razer get to her _that_ much?"

"Do you?"

"All I know is that Red needs a major attitude adjustment."

Smiling, Hal said, "Just as I thought."

They continued towards the city to start their rounds. Hal had devised a plan with Kilowag's help. The two of them would ask around the marketplace and if they had no results to speak of they would split up. Kilowag would talk to the people in the bars and shops while Hal would go into the mostly deserted part of town where they saw some people as they chased after Razer. They'd meet up three hours later at the first bar they saw and head back if they found nothing. It was a solid plan.

Until they started asking around, that is.

Hal and Kilowag wished more than ever before that they had kept their mouths shut.

"Excuse me, Miss?" Hal asked the young alien with no eyes (yet perfect timing when it came to yelling "Don't touch my goods!" at Kilowag when the Green Lantern tried picking up a squash-shaped yellow and pink fruit), white blotchy skin, and three arms. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"What about?"

"My friend and I were walking around with our other friend the day before, and now our friend is sick. Is there some sort of disease going around?"

For a woman with no eyes she was capable of giving a perfectly malignant look. "Be gone!"

"What?"

"Disease? I know nothing of disease! Go!" She screeched at Hal and threw fruits at him until he fled to across the street. Kilowag, who had been talking with another merchant, received similar treatment. He was screamed at by the elderly man for talking about it and had to back off for the merchant to stop. By then all eyes were on the two and none of them would speak to the Green Lanterns.

* * *

Back on the Interceptor, Aya had taken his blood pressure, temperature, a few blood samples to run tests on, double and triple checked his vitals, and now had him lying on his back, eyes closed, as she measured brain activity. Aya had assured him this would last only a few minutes but it stretched to twenty and was still going strong.

"Aya, this is—"

"Please keep quiet Razer, I'm running the scan and all I need you to do is relax."

He shut his mouth and eventually fell asleep the test was so boring. Aya scolded him every time he thought and now, now Razer wouldn't hear her increasingly grating voice.

* * *

There were flowers. Many, many flowers of many different colors. White, yellow, blue, green, pink—Razer had never seen so many in his life. They were so _pretty_, but nothing compared to Ilana standing with her arms open, waiting for him. Razer ran to her and flung his arms around her. Her body was so, so… so cold. He blinked and the scenery changed.

"Home," he breathed. "It's home."

Adrenaline surged throughout Razer. He looked down to Ilana. She stared back at him with her big, beautiful blue eyes. She smiled but she looked and felt dead to him.

"You came back to me and now I'm coming back to you." Ilana hugged her husband tightly; as tight as she could. "I've missed you so much. You don't know how much." Razer tried to speak but he was muted here; it was Ilana's turn to speak and he wasn't interrupting. "To think, you served the man responsible for my death. But that's okay; here you don't have to worry about him, about Atrocitus. You aren't his pet anymore. Here you're…"

"I'm what?" he rasped, suddenly unable to breathe. His throat felt like cotton and Ilana stopped speaking. "Ilana? Ilana, tell me—"

* * *

"Ilana, tell me what I am!"

Aya could feel surprise. She learned how terrifying it could be, to be surprised, when Razer sat up and grabbed her. Sweat covered his body in a fine coat and it sped down his face. Razer's eyes were wide and unfocused; Aya knew he mistook her for his wife, so she clarified it for him. "Razer, I am not Ilana. You fell into stasis and began dreaming."

Slowly, Razer recognized her. She looked like her, but it wasn't her. It was Aya, not her.

"Ah…" He nodded, slowly. "That was… a mistake." Razer shut his eyes and propelled himself over the other side of the cot and barfed. Aya watched him wretch for five minutes before he finally stopped and layed limply over the edge of the cot.

"I will gather cleaning supplies for this mess. Razer, I believe hydration is in order." He didn't respond. Aya didn't want him to. As she cleaned up the mess Razer curled up on the cot. Malaise not caused by vomiting hit him, rendering him incapable of resting.

"_You aren't his pet anymore. Here you're…"_

_Yours, Ilana? Am I really yours?_

But that was nonsense; she was dead. That was just a dream.

…Right?

* * *

Hal picked a rock out of his ear while Kilowag hacked up several pebbles. Nothing else needed to be said about their progress.

"What the heck is wrong with these people?!" Kilowag yelled as he wiped slobber from his jaw. "As soon as we brought up the word 'disease' or 'sick' they lost it!"

"I don't know!" Hal gripped his hair in aggravation and ran his fingers through it. "We're never going to get answers from these people. What has them so afraid of those words?"

"Whatever it is, they better get over it real quick because if someone throws something at us again I'm fightin' back."

"I'm with you there buddy." Hal took several deep breaths before resting his hands at his sides and cracking his back. "Now what? We can't really ask around and expect to get results. Good ones anyway."

"I could help you."

Hal and Kilowag turned, their rings glowing with power as they took aim at the young child before them. He had blotchy white skin and fins on either side of his face. His skin was scaly and had claws instead of hands. His clothes were torn and covered in dust. Instead of quivering in fear from having weapons pointed at him, he smiled.

"Your friend is sick, right? I know just the guy!"

"You do?" the Lanterns asked in unison. They lowered their rings. "Who are you, kid?" asked Kilowag.

"Call me H."

"Okay, H." Hal knelt down next to H and smiled. "Tell us about the guy who can help our friend."

"He's the city's doctor," H explained. "He doesn't like to be bothered much, but he's pretty cool. He may be able to help out with your friend. What's wrong with him, anyways?" Kilowag opened his mouth to explain, but H cut him off. "Oh, let me guess! Um… he's coughing a lot? No? Then he has a fever. That's probable. Oh, and he's seeing things. Am I right?"

"How do you know he's seeing things?"

"What's your name?"

"Hal—Hal Jordan, Green Lantern."

"So cool! Jyril ran into one before. Um, he said something about his dad meeting one. And who's the big pink guy?"

"Kilowag is the big pink guy." Hal chuckled and ruffled H's hair. "And is Jyril the guy who can help us?"

"Yeah. He's so awesome. Follow me and you'll see him!" H sprinted away from Hal and Kilowag, leaving the two behind in his dust.

"Do you think we should follow him Hal? I don't have a good feeling about this."

"I don't either, but we've got no other option. Now come on; we can't let a kid outrun us."

"And I can't let _you_ beat _me,_" Kilowag said as he took off, rushing after H. Hal yelled "Not far!" as he took off after the two. He was lagging behind but not so much that he couldn't hear Kilowag's laughter bouncing off the buildings that closed in on them, echoing throughout the empty city.

* * *

"Razer, if it is your wife you are imagining then it's likely you suffer from some sort of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder."

"I do NOT have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder! And I'm not talking about Ilana to a computer like you."

"Are you displeased with me as I use the form resembling her? If that is so I apologize, but I merely took on the form of the last female in my database."

"You have no right to use her form. You stole it from my mind, Aya! It wasn't yours to take and you stole it!"

Aya had only been trying to help. She knew of Ilana and thought if he would talk about her it would help, but he only grew irate. "Razer, it is unhealthy to ignore past problems. Statistics show—"

"Statistics?" Razer sneered. "You're nothing like Ilana; she was real, she had emotions and life. You do not. I hope you realize your attempts to be considered a Green Lantern are futile and the Lanterns are only humoring you because they don't want to deal with an AI hung up on being something she cannot. You mean nothing to me."

"Razer…" Aya mimicked something she'd seen Hal do. She closed her eyes and kept them shut for a few moments. When she opened them Razer was sitting on the cot with his head in his hands. His breathing labored and his body sagged from exhaustion. His malaise hadn't left him and only grew worse. When Aya observed his brain activity she noted that it was unusually high. "I understand. If it means a better chance of recovery for you then I will retire my humanoid form. Then will you speak with me?"

Razer felt a pang in his chest. Not because he had possibly hurt Aya, but because that would be one less way to see Ilana's face. "Do as you will."

"Do you feel better?"

He looked up at her, confused. "What?"

"You have rid your body of your gastrointestinal acids, have stopped sweating, and released some emotional frustration. I thought that would result in feeling well."

"Aya, I have the largest headache in the Frontier and you've tried prying into my personal life. That doesn't define 'better'."

Aya nodded. "Then I will retire my humanoid form. You are free to do as you will, Razer." She stepped away from him and in 2.1 seconds disassembled her humanoid form and went back into the Interceptor. Razer couldn't stand staying any longer and walked out, turning his back on her…

…only to get shot and hurled back into the ship.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys! Just an FYI that The Caged Goddess will come out soon enough—it's nearing its end, so I want to keep the chapter good, and I have a small block for it. But no worries! I will get to it. (: Right now, though, it'll be mostly GL stuffies.**

* * *

Razer's left shoulder screamed in pain, quickly followed by the rest of his body. Whatever hit him had been electrified. Disoriented and stunned, all Razer could do was lie on his back, eyes wide open, as a lithely woman stepped over him. He couldn't make out her features since she wore full body armor, but she was definitely humanoid. Only her voice gave way to her identity when she said, "I got him," as well as her name when her companion yelled out, "Good job, Lei!"

"Excuse me," Aya's mechanical voice resounded in Razer's eardrums, "but I believe you are trespassing." Lei's head jerked towards Aya. She stood in her humanoid form, arms outstretched and palms pointed at Lei and her companion. "Goodbye now." She fired off two shots simultaneously, sending Rei flying away from Razer and into the wall. The male, however, somersaulted forwards and shot at Aya.

As Aya ducked and dodged attacks from the apparently highly-skilled male, Razer came back to his senses. _What am I doing, lying down like this?_ he thought. _Get up!_ Despite his body's protests, Razer picked himself off the ground. His left arm dangled by his side, useless. Lei layed on the ground, her gun inches away. Razer dashed and leapt for it, grasping at the weapon with his slender digits. It was all a ploy however, as Lei sprung to life, swiping her gun and kicking Razer in the face. He felt the right side of his face swell and see dark spots dance along his vision, but wasn't daunted. He was faster than her and her armor, and lunged at her again as she tried standing. They wrestled, fighting for control of the gun.

Aya couldn't land any of her attacks on her opponent. He was deceptively fast and capable despite his bulky figure and heavy armor. "Their skill is indicative of practice, Razer. I suggest you—" Razer was thrown across the room, all the way to Aya's feet, by Lei. "—take caution."

"He has my gun Malron, be careful!" Lei hissed. She pulled out a knife and moved closer, but Razer aimed his gun at her before she could take two steps. He fired one shot at her, then at Malron. Malron leaned back to dodge, only to get blasted by Aya and thrown against a wall, while Lei sidestepped and rushed at Razer. He fired at her again and hit her in the belly, which blew her back a few inches. He tried firing again only for the gun to lock up. Lei laughed. "You can't shoot me with my own gun," she purred, then pounced on Razer. He ducked and she somersaulted over him. When he turned she had her knife pressed against his neck.

"Any last words?"

"I believe I obviate the need for him to answer." There was a loud thud, followed by Lei shrieking as Aya blasted her with a powerful shot. When Razer looked to Aya he saw Malron lying in a heap. Aya knocked him out. She extended a hand to Razer. "Razer, are you injured?"

"I'm fine." He stood on his own, though wobbled on his feet. Blood trickled down his injured arm and his face was swollen and bruised. "Aya, where's my ring?" He blinked several times and rubbed his eyes. His vision was off. Aya looked blurrier than usual, as did the rest of the Interceptor.

"It is in control room. Razer, I believe you should lie down. You are injured, and it seems your skin—"

"Never mind that, Aya. These two might have had friends. We had enough difficulty taking them down; I need my ring if I'm to be useful." He stormed into the control room with Aya hot on his heels.

"According to my sensors, the intruders are in stasis. We should—" She stopped, allowing Razer to get ahead. Razer set his gun on a nearby chair. "My sensors now indicate the intruders are awake. Razer, please gather your ring and contact Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and Kilowag. I will stall the intruders." She turned and walked back into the other room. Before the doors shut behind her a container popped out of one of the control systems with Razer's ring inside of it. It opened for Razer to take the ring out, but he paused with a pained expression before sliding the ring onto his finger. The red power surged through him, his rage and hate turning into something he could control as his outfit changed into his Red Lantern armor. Blood quickly soaked the fabric over his left shoulder; he winced and tried lifting his arm. To put it mildly, it hurt.

"There's no time for this," he muttered. Razer could hear the fight start up again already. What were those two made of? Whatever they were, they were tough. He hit the button to open communication with Hal so he could get back and help Aya.

* * *

H lead them through the twisting streets of the inner city, which was completely uninhabited by the masses. A few buildings teetered dangerously between stable and ready to topple over onto their heads, but H maneuvered through them with practiced ease.

Hal and Kilowag were nearly collapsing on each other when they reached a ramshackled three story building, which by all means of logic should have collapsed from the looks of it. H seemed as worried about the buildings as bothered as he was by the heat, which was not at all. The two GLs were covered in sweat and needed water, soon. H was unaffected by the heat, but even he had to catch his breath when they reached their destination. "Come on," he breathed, "Jyril is in here. Oh, when you get inside just grab a bucket and dump some water on you, but only after you get a drink. Jyril can be a little…" He laughed. "Stingy, I guess." Hal tried to ask more about this Jyril character, but H ran inside. Hal tried following but Kilowag pulled him back.

"Be on your guard Jordan; I don't have a good feeling about this."

"Guys, come ON! Jyril's waiting!"

"You heard the kid." Hal shoved Kilowag's hand away and smiled reassuringly. "We'll be fine. And if there's any trouble we have our rings. Now come on—" He swallowed. "—I really need some water." Kilowag sighed and followed Hal into the building.

The building's exterior was deceptive. Although the outside looked unstable, the inside proved otherwise. Underneath thin layers of some sort of paint were metal braces. Erosion caused by sand blowing inside tore away the paint, exposing the braces. "No wonder this place still stands," Kilowag muttered, "but why would anyone put so much effort into keeping this place standing?"

"Maybe it was their home? Your guess is as good as mine."

"Take only one pot," H instructed them, oblivious to their conversation. "It's full of… science-y stuff Jyril did. You'll feel better." He yanked one pot off the table, which was almost as tall as him. The pot was large, too, and shown to be filled to the brim with water when he opened it. Hal and Kilowag looked on approvingly.

"You're pretty strong for a kid, H," said Kilowag. He walked over to the table and took one of the remaining pots. Hal did the same, but unlike Kilowag and H he had difficulty lifting it. Kilowag laughed at Hal as he had to use a construct to lift it.

"Don't laugh Pinky, he's… I guess his species is weak. What are you anyways?"

"Human," Hal said before greedily drinking from the pot. When he set it down water was running down his face, but it was a welcome way to cool himself off. "And you?"

"I'm… uh, bio… bio… I don't know the word. But I'm made!" H stood and flexed his muscles, which wasn't many. "Jyril made me super strong. And 'cause of him I can breathe!" H lifted the pot and dumped the rest of the water on his head, laughing as he was soaked. "My mom was, uh, I guess a whore? Or something, I don't know. But I was in this ship you see and I got ejected with a pod, and I couldn't breathe out of water, so when it crashed… Yeah! Jyril saved me!" H beamed and Hal and Kilowag were confused.

"Let me get this straight… You were on a ship, stuck in a pod filled with water, and you can't breathe air so when the pod broke here you were dying?" Hal said everything slowly and continued when H nodded. "And this Jyril fixed this? How?"

"I… I don't know. But he's awesome!"

"I'm sure…" Kilowag shook his head. "Do we really dump the water on us after we're done drinking?"

"Yup. It's super hot here, so Jyril says to do that to keep your skin from burning! Look, he's a little burnt already! And you're a red-pink now!" He pointed at them and stared, just stared, waiting for them to douse themselves in water. Hal and Kilowag exchanged glances. Hal shrugged.

"Well… he has a point." Using his construct, Hal lifted the pot above his head and dumped the water on him. Kilowag muttered his complaints before soaking himself. He shook off immediately though, while Hal rubbed his face.

"Man, it feels—"

"Downstairs!" H ran straight through the wall off to the far right, and yelled "It's a… thinga-mah-boober!" as he passed through the wall, disappearing without a trace.

"A hologram?" Kilowag asked. "I can't believe it. No one else in this city had anything _close_ to that."

"Maybe it's a good thing; maybe he can help us help Razer."

"Or it's a bad thing."

"Hey; I already told Razer this. I don't care about accepting a Red Lantern onto the team, but I don't tolerate pessimists." Hal walked up to where H ran through the wall and stuck his arm through it first, to make sure it really was a hologram, and walked through. Kilowag followed after him, but didn't stop talking.

"I'm just being realistic. When do we ever not run into trouble?"

Hal turned and faced him. "Look," he said evenly, "I don't want to talk about this. Let's just talk to this guy and see if he can help." He turned and continued walking down the stairs. The steps were a little uneven and quickly turned into an awkwardly tilted ramp. Hal and Kilowag stumbled trying to keep their footing. It was very dark, except for three lamps that lighted the path. H's silhouette waited for them at the tunnel's exit. "Quite a basement you have here," he said when they were close enough.

"It's not mine. It's Jyril's." H deadpanned suddenly and stepped back from Hal and Kilowag. "Um… Jyril… He doesn't like guests. He's really, ah, he likes…"

"Being alone?" Hal finished. H hastily nodded. "Us being here won't cause a problem… Right?" H hesitated.

"I told ya I had a bad feeling about this," Kilowag whispered. H squirmed where he stood.

"I'm sure it's no problem! Jyril is awesome. But he can get mad, which isn't a bad thing! Your friend is sick, right?"

"Right…"

"Well, Hal Jordan guy, Jyril is really good at helping sick people! So let me get him!" Without wasting a fraction of a second, H ran through an opening in the wall into another room. Now that they were alone, Hal looked around the room. Aside from the gaping hole in the wall, covered by a curtain blocking off wandering eyes, there was nothing in the room except for dust. He sneezed and Kilowag rolled his eyes.

"How long do you think we're going to be kept waiting?" Kilowag looked around and shuddered. The room was too small for his liking, especially after walking through that tunnel.

"Not long!" H replied. He exited the other room, his lips pulled back into a sharp-toothed grin. "Jyril of Wven is here!" Waggling his fingers, H pointed to the hole in the wall. Hal and Kilowag stared for a couple of moments—no one came out. The Green Lanterns exchanged stumped looks before—finally—the curtains parted and out walked Jyril.

"H, who are these men you've brought here?" Jyril's voice was low and nasally. Looking at him was unpleasant for Hal and Kilowag; his skin, a greenish teal color, was covered in rough-looking scaly patches. There were many dark spots all over his body—most laughably being the big one atop his head, which made Hal think of a weird hat. His six yellow eyes glanced from his unwanted guests to H. Hal gagged when he saw and smelled the goo oozing from them. Kilowag shuddered and tasted stomach acid, but it was still more polite than Hal's reaction.

To make it worse, the man looked obese for his size—he didn't even have a neck, though that could've been his natural build. Some skin sagged on his face while his arms were stick-thin, but his body was almost too thick for his filthy lab coat to fit around. Hal had seen some _ugly_ aliens before, but it had been a while since he wanted to barf.

"The human is Hal Jordan, and the big pink guy is Kilowag! They said their friend is sick, Jyril. I said you could help!"

"You… did?" Jyril squinted all six of his eyes at H. "I never agreed to that. I'm sorry, I can't help." He directed his disapproving look to Hal and Kilowag. "You need to get your friend off this planet. We don't need more illness!"

"But H said you saved him and made it so he could breathe air instead of having to stay in water all the time." Jyril stepped closer; Hal stepped back and swallowed acid. The odor coming off of Jyril was worse than rot. He could _taste_ it: Tangy, then sour, and then it left a bad taste in your mouth like after you tried to eat dirt as a kid. Multiply that by a hundred and that was roughly how bad it tasted. "You don't even know what's wrong with our friend. Please, if you could just—"

"I'm sorry, but H is merely an experiment." Jyril shook his head. "I do not service strangers. I do not need to. Now leave before your friend infects the rest of my city."

"So much for getting help." Kilowag glared at Jyril briefly. Then he looked to H and his expression softened a little. "Thanks for trying kid, but it looks like your friend here doesn't find us worth his time. As far as we know, it's this planet of yours that made him sick." Kilowag walked back to the tunnel. "I'm getting out of here Jordan. All of a sudden, I kind of wish this was a trap." Hal shook his head and frowned at Jyril, who glared at him.

"I care about Wven. I care about my people. Not yours! I have no good thoughts of you Lanterns. Now please leave!" Jyril scurried back into the other room. H looked at Hal, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with him!"

"It's not your fault kid. Listen, I've got to get going… Razer's hallucinating, and I don't know if he'll try getting violent with Aya."

"They're your friends? Razer's the sick one, right?" Hal nodded. "And what else is wrong? Does he just see stuff all of a sudden or something?"

"He started hallucinating just yesterday. Looked like Hell today, too, but I don't know if anything else happened."

"Well, people don't like talking about it… But the adults used to get really, really sick. Most do when they get so old, I don't know why. And every time they start seeing things! Then other stuff starts happening, and Jyril can't do anything. He doesn't like seeing people die. Maybe that's why he won't help!" H perked up a little. "Yeah, he doesn't wanna see your friend die!" Although H looked happier, Hal looked paler.

"H, what else happens after the adults start seeing things?" Every muscle in Hal's body tensed. His eyes darted from one spot to another, never pausing for more than a second. Hal understood the gut feeling Kilowag had earlier when it came to following H.

"Well, you get really hot! The older lady who takes care of me said you get really dizzy too, and start shaking and getting really, really wet and sticky. Then their skin gets super gross. The rash sometimes has BIIIIIIIG pus pockets and their skin just rips right off!"

"Anything else?" Hal felt the most aware he'd ever been of germs. He didn't know how contagious this virus was. He didn't know if he or Kilowag could contract it, or if there was even a cure. "How contagious is it?"

"Yeah! Your skin gets all white and blotchy, kinda like mine is! Everyone else's, too. It's one of the first things, I think. I don't know, but I usually see it on people who are about to get really sick. But we all have it, I wonder why?"

"H," Hal said forcefully, "I need you to tell me how contagious this… this virus, is."

H shrugged. "I don't know. We get it at random!"

"Listen, I need to know everything you can possibly tell me about this disease. It's really important that I know; my friend, Aya, might know a way to cure it."

"No way," H pouted, "I don't believe that. If Jyril can't cure it, no one can."

"Forget Jyril; he doesn't want to help us. Right now we can't bother with him." H frowned and stepped back, towards the other room. "H?"

"You don't get it… Jyril saved me. He helps us! If Jyril can't fix something, then he can't fix something." H moved closer to the curtains. "You're just like them. You don't like him because he can't help you. You're just like everyone else!"

"Whoa, calm down kid." Hal stepped forwards. H matched Hal's movement and stepped backwards. "I didn't mean it that way. I just meant that he won't help us so we need to look for other ways—"

"Liar! You're a big, fat, stupid liar!"

H ran through the curtains, leaving Hal to himself. Hal planned on following but hearing Kilowag yell "Hal, what's taking so long?" from the other end of the tunnel stopped him. "This isn't over yet, kid."

* * *

Kilowag tapped his foot impatiently as Hal came upstairs, his look sour. "What took ya so long?"

"I was talking with H. Apparently, there's a disease going around here that causes hallucinations as well as a bunch of other symptoms." Hal pinched the bridge of his nose. "And guess what? He doesn't know how contagious it is, just that people get it at random."

"Are you serious?"

"And the real kicker? I said to not bother with Jyril, since he wouldn't help us, and that Aya may be able to find a cure and H flipped. I couldn't even get the rest of the symptoms out of him before he ran off."

"It's official: We need to get off this planet and make sure we're not infected." Kilowag motioned for Hal to follow him as he left. "That means we need to try quarantining Razer. If he's contagious then we can't risk gettin' it."

"And if we can't cure Razer?"

Kilowag fought the urge to let his shoulders slump, his head fall. Still, he couldn't hide his worry in his voice. "I don't know Hal, but we're gonna try."

"Now that I can agree on." Just as Hal spoke, his ring chirruped and when he held it up a projection of the battered Razer popped up. "Razer? Razer, what's going on? And how'd you get your ring?"

"Never mind that!" Razer snapped. "The Interceptor is under attack. Two people are in the other room fighting with Aya. I'm about to go give her a hand. We've taken them down once already but—" Loud laughter and the harsh sound of metal ripping came from somewhere Hal and Kilowag couldn't see.

"Hey! What's going on there, Red?" Kilowag yelled, butting Hal out of the way so Razer could see him. That was if Razer had been looking at them. "Is Aya okay?"

"And why is there so much blood on your—" Something ripped Razer away and cut off communication. "Razer! Razer, Aya, answer me!" Nothing. "They need help, let's go!"

"Already ahead of you," Kilowag called from the skies, as he already took flight. Hal went after him and they sped off towards the Interceptor as fast as they could go.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys! I started a Tumblr where I will answer questions as certain characters from the series. It's called AskGLTASCrewFanpage dot tumblr .com. If you guys want me to answer questions as the characters, then ask me there! Also, I haven't been working too much on my fics here because I'm preparing for NaNoWriMo '12, so I probably won't do much updating until sometime in December. I will answer questions, if I get any, on Tumblr though.**

**I'm really sorry for taking so long. But NaNoWriMo is super-important to me, so it will take a lot of my free time until it's over. I will try to finish a I started chapter for Betrayal for Revenge and I plan on working on another fic, but it may not be posted up until December since I don't want to start and leave it hanging. I REALLY think you guys will like it, though.**

* * *

Razer twisted and kicked to no avail. The fingers wrapped around his neck didn't recede or loosen their grip, they tightened. His left arm rested limply beside him while his right arm was pinned by Lei's knee. Malron and Aya were still fighting each other, neither showing signs of fatigue. Razer tried turning his head to face Lei, so he could breathe red energy at her, but she threatened to gouge his eyes out with her free hand.

"Razer," Aya said for the thirteenth time, "all is not lost. I believe I am tiring this one down."

"You're doing an amazing job," Razer would have said. "Don't worry about me; I'm fine. I'm just being choked to death." He would've said that, if he could. But his windpipe was nearly crushed and it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to tell up from down, left from right.

When Razer blacked out Lei removed her hand from his face and withdrew the knife from her hip. "You'll thank me for this, I promise you." She brought the knife down but Razer was ripped out from underneath her. She landed on her hands and knees and snarled viscously. "What the hell?" A large green fist came flying at her. She dove to the side only to get caught by a separate hand, courtesy of Kilowog. Malron was encased in a green energy bubble Hal maintained. "Let me go!"

"We're not the enemy," Malron insisted. Kilowog snorted; Hal rolled his eyes.

"Of course you're not. That's why you just tried killing these two." He turned to Aya, who was tending to Razer. "Aya, is he—"

"Razer is unconscious, but he will recover."

"From the attack at least," he muttered and turned back to Lei. "Who are you?"

"And why were you on our ship?" added Kilowog.

"Because we want off."

"Off?" Kilowog eyed Malron. "Whaddya mean by that?"

"He means off of this planet." Hal looked to Lei. "So we were going to steal this ship."

"Your skill levels show this isn't the first time you two have tried this." Aya stood, holding Razer like a bride, and walked out. She continued as she set up a bed for Razer in the multi-use room. "Your suits give off strange electromagnetic waves so that I cannot sense your vital signs despite your—"

"Despite that we're not robots? Yeah, that's what they're meant for."

"It doesn't matter what they're meant for. All that matters is that we're not just letting you go. Aya, once you've tended to Razer I need you to try and locate the nearest prison. I don't think we're going to find any on this planet." Hal nodded to Kilowog. "Let's get their armor off and then we'll lock them up."

"Gotcha."

As they did that, Aya straightened Razer out on the bed and watched as the machines picked up on his vital signs. He had an abnormally high fever and his blood pressure was down. He, she noted, trembled at the touch. Whether it was from sickness or his injury Aya couldn't tell; it'd have to wait for his recovery. But for her to treat his shoulder wound she'd have to remove his ring, so she lifted his right hand and went to slide off his ring. Before she could slide it past his knuckle Razer clenched his hand and pulled it away. "Razer," she said, surprised, "I need to remove your ring to treat you."

"Not… this time," he rasped. His armor disappeared as his ring powered down, leaving him in his regular clothing. Razer blinked several times but instead of seeing Aya he saw Ilana, so he shut them again. It hurt too much to keep them open. Aya peeled Razer's top layer of clothing off of his upper half, but he stopped her when she tried pulling off his hood, because he'd at least have some sense of modesty. Hal, who was approaching them, grimaced when he saw Razer's wounded shoulder.

"Man, that looks… bad."

"Affirmative."

"And his skin?"

"I believe we can fault his illness."

Hal nodded and tried not to stare. Razer's skin, which was normally a bluish white, was more paper white with pink blotches all over. His left shoulder, however, was black with red blooming beneath charred flesh. "Once you're done treating him Kilowog and I have something to show you."

"Give me 10.28 minutes."

"Gotcha, doc." Smiling faintly, Hal walked back into the control room. And, just as she said, 10.28 minutes later Aya entered the control room. Five feet away, lying in a heap, were two skeletons with dehydrated flesh clinging to the bones. Hal and Kilowog saw the outlines of the organs and intestines that had once serviced the bodies of Lei and Malron. The flesh was flaking, too, and Kilowog could barely make out claw marks all over their bodies. Hal thought he saw an organ deflate inside of Malron's slightly larger corpse and nearly vomited. Aya was unfazed.

"What happened?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Kilowog prodded Malron's foot (or what used to be his foot, and was really more of a nub) with a stick construct. "We pulled off their armor and this happened! We tried putting it back on but nothing happened."

"They're dead."

"Yeah Aya, we kind of picked up on that." Hal pushed himself off the wall and knelt beside the corpses. "I wonder if this is because of another disease running rampant here… If it is, we need to burn these bodies or—or something, and contact the Guardians… unfortunately." He made a sour face and Kilowog punched his arm.

"I don't trust you to deal with the Guardians. _I'll_ talk to 'em. The last thing we need is you getting attitude with them because of what happened with Ganthet."

"And you're not mad that he's exiled?"

"I never said that, but this is more important right now, Hal. All of our lives depend on it if what they have is contagious, or if we get what Razer has!"

"'What Razer has'? So you know I have something." They all turned to face Razer, who was leaning against the doorway. He'd somehow pulled his shirt on despite his injury, but he still looked absolutely ill. And the way he trembled—not just his legs, which were having trouble supporting his weight, but every bit of him—made Hal feel like Razer needed a hug. Then he realized what he thought was ridiculous, and he frowned and went on to scold Razer on moving when he shouldn't. Anything Hal said was rendered pointless however when Kilowog said:

"Red, you realize you're positively _pink_, right?"

"Are you blind?"

"Razer, Kilowog is not lying. Your skin is completely white save for the pink blotches spanning the course of your body. And I believe I told you to relax." Aya seemed very annoyed, and the way she spoke reminded Razer of the way she dismissed his unwillingness to leave the memory-loop he'd been placed in at the prison. He didn't find it amusing then, and he surely didn't find it amusing now.

"I want to hear what you found out." He ignored Aya, again focusing on Hal and Kilowog. "Well? Are you…" Razer finished his sentence, but no one heard it. It was too raspy to begin with, and then just was gone. Very calmly, Kilowog asked, "Hal, is this another symptom?"

"No, I'm pretty sure it's just an effect of talking too much after being choked out." Razer glared darkly and thought maledictions about the two Lanterns standing before him. "Calm down Razer," Hal said knowingly, "I promise we'll tell you what we know, _after_ you rest." When Razer crossed his arms and looked defiantly at Hal, Aya glided past him, barely getting any attention from Razer until he felt a stick in his arm, and he looked down to see Aya sticking him with a needle.

"I told you to rest."

"What?" Razer presumably said, but no one heard it. Shortly after his eyes drooped and he collapsed into Aya's waiting arms. "Kilowog and Hal, if you two would please bring the intruders' bodies in here so I may prepare them for an autopsy it would be of great assistance."

"Yay, more handling of possible biohazards!"

"Just shut up and grab a body Jordan." Hal made a face as Kilowog grabbed Malron's body and carried it into the multi-use room. Kilowog set the body on an empty bed and watched as Aya put the bed back into the ship, so that the body was contained, and turned to see Hal carrying Lei's body on a platform construct. Kilowog rolled his eyes when Hal smiled at set the body down. "I'm gonna go wash my hands," he grumbled and walked to the bathroom. When he returned Hal was in the control room, so he headed there. "You ready?"

"Let's just get this over with." Hal punched the button. Within seconds their communication request was approved, and several holographic Guardians appeared.

"Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and Kilowog," said Appa, "what is the meaning of this call?"

"We think we landed on a planet running rampant with a few sorts of deadly diseases." Hal crossed his arms. "Razer is infected—"

"You mean the Red Lantern?"

"Yeah, Red. He's sick and Jordan and I are probably at risk of gettin' it too. We also had two people attack the ship. We defeated them but when we took off their suits they… They looked like dried out meat! They weren't even alive."

"You must evacuate the planet immediately," Sayd instructed. "Have the AI system locate the medicines and get treated for all intergalactic diseases you can. Quarantine yourselves for a while and don't land on any other planets. You cannot risk spreading a plague, if it is one."

Hal nodded. "Got it. We should go have that done now, so—"

"Hold it right there Green Lantern of Sector 2814," Appa snapped. Hal stopped; he had wanted to hit the 'off' button before anyone objected. Someone did. Damn. "Why can't your AI system deduce what the disease is?"

"Because they aren't in my records." Hal and Kilowog turned to face Aya who stepped up. "I ran a quick check on all recorded diseases and none follow these patterns. The ones who attacked the ship have decomposed far too much for my scanners to detect what sort of disease they were afflicted with."

"Then it's of utmost urgency that you all leave the planet and get yourselves treated for everything. Exclude nothing and—"

"I don't believe that would help."

"Excuse me?" Appa said, astounded that an AI system would dare interrupt a Guardian. "And why is that?"

"Either this disease is something new no one has encountered before, or it is manmade. If it is the latter then we must see if we can find the person responsible for this and punish him accordingly."

"Aya has a point." Hal smiled. "It is our duty as Green Lanterns to fight the bad guys, isn't that right?"

"Defeating the Red Lanterns is a higher priority. That means you can't—"

"Sorry, breaking up." Hal punched the 'end communication' button and turned to Aya. "Is Razer's illness really manmade?"

"I cannot say for sure, but there is a possibility."

"Great, just what we needed," Kilowog grumbled. "A manmade disease we don't know how to treat, and the one person who might actually be able to help us won't!"

"You found someone who could be of help? Who?"

"We ran into this kid, H, who told us about this Jyril guy," Hal explained. "We thought he'd be able to help but he said he didn't care because we weren't from here."

"Didn't he say he didn't like us Lanterns?"

"Yeah, he did. Wonder why that is…"

"Whatever the reason, it can't be good. Nothin' ever is."

"Then you two should delve into that. I will tend to Razer and track his symptoms more carefully." Aya's lips curled just slightly downward, giving her a frown. "His illness has been rather aggressive. Before I prepare a course of action I will require any information you two found."

Flashing Aya thumbs up, Hal nodded. "Sure thing, but first let's get rid of the dead bodies. I really don't want them hanging around."

"They have already been incinerated."

Kilowog chuckled at Aya's nonchalant attitude towards that, and Hal smiled before going into the details of what happened, with Kilowog adding in his two cents every few minutes. When they finished telling her about H and what he claimed Jyril did for him, and the symptoms Hal knew about—and how unpredictable the disease was when it came to spreading—Aya was more than suspicious about this Jyril character.

"…and that's everything," Hal finished.

"Yeah, not that there's much that will help Red out. Man, I've got a bad feeling about that kid and Jyril. It's obvious they're up to something."

"Strange. You two say that most of the inhabitants of the city had the same white blotchy skin that characterizes the disease, but not all of them were ill. I believe more information on that is required."

"But Aya, no one wanted to tell us anything the second we mentioned disease," Kilowog reasoned, "I don't think they'll tell us anything if we ask about their health."

"Did you ask nicely?"

"Yes."

"Then I believe the next course of action would be to not ask nicely."


End file.
